Astros report: Elite pitching keeps offense in deep freeze

The Astros have seen their offense take a nose dive during their current four-game losing streak, but two of the losses have come to two of the best pitchers in the American League.

They lost their series finale to the White Sox and Chris Sale, who is 9-0. And Sunday's loss came at the hands of Cole Hamels, who hasn't lost a regular-season start since August.

But an offense that has five combined runs in its last four games is coming off a stretch when it averaged 5.5 runs in the six previous games. The Rangers outhit the Astros 24-14.

"When you go through a lull offensively like we've gone through … it's demoralizing when you put a ball in play hard and they're right there," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "But it's a tough league. We've got to toughen up a little bit about those circumstances, whether it's a tough call or a line-drive out. They give us 27 outs. We have to maximize them and overcome some of the negative vibe that can be created by being held scoreless and also not getting enough hits."

The Astros are hitting .229 as a team, which is 29th in the majors. Only Jose Altuve, who is sixth in the American League with a .328 average, is higher than .254.

They lead the American League in walks but also lead all of baseball in strikeouts.

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Texas trouble

The Astros are 0-6 against the Rangers this season.

Here's a breakdown of the Silver Boot series:

Date Score

April 19: Rangers 7, Astros 5

April 20: Rangers 2, Astros 1

April 21: Rangers 7, Astros 4

May 20: Rangers 2, Astros 1

May 21: Rangers 2, Astros 1

Sunday: Rangers 9, Astros 2

June 6-9: Astros at Rangers

Aug. 5-7: Rangers at Astros

Sept. 2-4: Astros at Rangers

Sept. 12-14: Rangers at Astros

Hamels finished with 11 strikeouts Sunday, and the Astros averaged just over 10 in the series.

"What he does so well is he's aggressive and attacks hitters, but with his pitches," Astros catcher Jason Castro said of Hamels. "He's still not going to leave a ton over the middle of the plate for guys to try to swing at."

Rangers own Lone Star Series

They meet 13 more times this season, but even dating to 2015, the Rangers have the Astros' number.

The latest chapter is another sweep this season, this time coming at Minute Maid Park after Texas won three in a row at home in April.

"They've just beat the hell out of us," said Astros manager A.J. Hinch, whose team is 2-14 against the Rangers since August. "They've come into our ballpark, at their ballpark, and they've just beat us.

"It doesn't mean it has to stay that way. We have a lot of games against these guys, but yeah, I'm tired of getting beat by them."

Sunday was the only lopsided game between the two in 2016. The Rangers won by one, two and three runs at home and took a pair of 2-1 games Friday and Saturday.

"There's no way around it - they've swept us at their place; they've swept us at our place," Hinch said. "We have to find a new approach against them."

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The Astros last won their season series over the Rangers in 2014, taking 11 of the 19 games. The two meet again in June for four games in Arlington.

Reed returns after DL stint

Astros first-base prospect A.J. Reed was activated from the 7-day disabled list Sunday and went 1-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout in his return to Class AAA Fresno. He played six innings and hit third in the batting order, reaching in his first two at-bats.

Reed, 23, went on the DL on May 11 with a right hamstring strain.

He's hitting .234 with six doubles, six home runs, 21 RBIs and a .799 OPS in 29 games this season for Fresno.

Odds and ends

All but one of the pitching matchups for the Orioles is set, with Doug Fister starting against Chris Tillman (6-1) on Tuesday and Lance McCullers opposing Kevin Gausman on Thursday. Collin McHugh startsWednesday, but Baltimore has yet to name its starter. …

Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor and first baseman Mitch Moreland weren't in the lineup Sunday Odor is 2-for-17 lifetime against Dallas Keuchel, and Moreland is 1-for-13. …

Rangers right fielder Drew Stubbs left the game in the ninth with a sprained toe on his left foot.